Alabama upends Arkansas in SEC second round

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — Dylan Ray struck out the only batter he faced to close out 11th-seeded Alabama's 4-3 win over third-seeded Arkansas on Wednesday in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

Ray came on for Antoine Jean after Jalen Battles singled with two outs in the ninth, just the fifth hit for the Razorbacks, to strike out pinch hitter Jace Bohrofen for his eighth save.

Alabama, which beat Arkansas in the final two games of the regular season, faces the winner of Florida and Texas A&M.

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn missed the game due to an unspecified illness.

The difference was a pair of unearned runs for the Crimson Tide. In the second inning two runs scored when Arkansas couldn't complete the double play. The first baseman couldn't dig out the throw for an an inning-ending double play, making it 2-0.

A sacrifice fly upped the lead to 3-0 in the third before Battles homered in the bottom of inning.

Another throwing error, when the catcher tried to pick a runner off third, gave Alabama, which only had four hits, a 4-1 lead.

Chris Lanzilli hit a two-run homer to left-center in the bottom of the sixth but Arkansas didn't get a runner past second after that.

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